USAID moves to save 1m children

The United State Agency for International Development, USAID, has expressed commitment towards ensuring that pregnant women and People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria are provided with adequate medical services.

USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah who spoke during an official visit to Island Maternity, Lagos, noted that his visit was in support of the foreign policy goals of the US to save one million lives.

File photo: Malnourished children

“The Agency will equip the hospital with necessary laboratory equipment that will help actualise zero infection of HIV from mother to child, low maternal deaths which will also be extended to other government hospitals across Nigeria.

“This hospital and its outstanding professional doctors and nurses have demonstrated a successful process, they went from 30 percent transmission to zero percent transmission and out of the 51 cases of children who could have been infected, zero children were infected and if Nigeria can replicate what has happened in this hospital throughout this country, it will be well out of its way to achieving its goal of saving one million lives and the United States is proud to be the primary partner to help achieve that outcome.”

Shah said the US government will actively support Nigeria in activities like immunisation, providing treated bed nets and supporting families to protect children, as well as provide support to eradicate the transmission of HIV from mother to children.

“USAID is strongly committed to the things that are most efficient and effective to saving one million lives in Nigeria and across Africa. We have provided several hundred million dollars a year as investment to support the effort to save one million lives and we would continue to invest in that very high level and we are proud to be Nigeria primary health partner,” he explained.